Hiyo. I always ask questions in multi-parters, and I'm not going to stop now!

1. TRPGers had gone a long time without anything new to sink their teeth into. Now, not only have we gotten Hoshigami, but we are also getting a new Tactics Ogre and possibly a somewhat sequal to FFT (it was a greatest hits game, so we should see an NA release, hmmm?). What do you think of the sudden influx of games from a relatively uncommon RPG subgenre?

Googleshng:
You left out quite a few there you know. Arc Collection is coming out in about a week, that's 3 right
there. Hoshigami's not too old yet, TOG on the way, FFT remake/pseudo-sequel in the future, I still haven't
gotten around to Saiyuki here, nor have I had time to play all the way through Vanguard Bandits.

Now, I love TRPGs more than anyone I know, but a wise man once said something to the effect of "everything
in moderation." I'm keeping on top of grabbing all these various new TRPGs, but I'm staring at a stack
of about what? 300 hours of generally hard gameplay of the same basic style, which I can only hack away
at in hour sized chunks (5 hour in Hoshigami's case). There isn't really a problem with all these games
coming out, or even that they're all coming out so close together, but I have a serious problem with the
lack of light fluffy games for contrast. I mean, I could REALLY use a short easy ARPG or something to
play between these suckers. Although I do seem to recall the Arc are more like standard RPGs with tactical
fights...

2. According to a review at a certain evil-twin of RPGamer (you know which) Xenosaga has a sort of database that is to be used in order to record and keep track of information about characters, events, and the like (kind of like in FFT, I suppose). Now I'm all for having complex, involved stories and all, but when you need this, isn't it a little excessive?

Googleshng:
Well, having a running record of all the confusing plot stuff going on is honestly a great idea more RPGs
should use. Games with a plot complicated enough to NEED one on the other hand, well, that's a matter
of taste, although I can say I've played my share of games with so much convoluted plot and gameplay that's
either too easy, too non-existent, or too wretched that the whole thing would be MUCH better off as a
book. Possibly of the comic variety (or Graphic Novel for the snooty).

3. Speaking of Xenosaga, it looks like it's going to be even a bigger offender than FFX when it comes to play time vs. movie and storyline time. The way I imagine it is that when we consider the vast amount of text in Xenogears...well, can you imagine waiting for it all to be spoken? Scary, but I still can't wait (have my reservation right here).

Googleshng:
Greeeaaaaaat... should have read all the questions before giving long winded replies. Anyway, I'll probably
still end up with a copy of Xenosaga 1, if for no other reason than to see if my Utena theory is correct.
Besides which, I'd be crucified if I didn't. The really big issue is this though. If we're talking about
a game full of voice acting being published by Namco, will why get nice subtitles like Soul Calibur, or
a creepy dub like Ridge Racer 4? "... veterans or ruukies..."

4. I've wanted to start buying the El-hazard series, but I don't know the order the stories are in. Maybe you could tell me which order they're supposed to be in? (The Wanderers, the Magnificent World, and the Alternative World, I think they're all called)

Googleshng:
Consulting with someone who's seen it:
Magnificent World is first, and it consists of 2 ovas, the regular one, and El Hazard 2: The Awakening of Kalia. Then after that comes Alternative World. The Wanderers is seperate entirely, it has most of the same characters but a completely different scenario.

5. Ever see any of the Lupin III eps or movies? Classic stuff.

Googleshng:
I've seen PARTS of them. It's one of those things where it's so old and has such a huge cult following
that I just can't get into it. Kinda like when I try to shove Transformers: The Movie down people's throats...

Oh, and the quote is from Final Fantasy VI. It's shouted whenever a party member is frozen by the Northern Cross attack.

The Crusader

Googleshng:
Many many people got that. Here's a tilde for each of you: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How many times must I answer this before it sinks in?

Hi Googy.......Got a question for you and Its a lot. I'm hoping you could
shed some light on my confused thoughts. Is Gameboy Advance really capable
of playing a SNES rpg such as Chrono Trigger or FF4-6? Would it be watered
down by any means? I understand that its a 32bit(Gameboy Advance)console but
the handheld games on past systems never looked as good as the original ports
to me. Games such as the Dragon Warrior series didnt seem better to me at
all on the gameboy color opposed to the NES version. I found the colors of
the graphics to be very crappy and also I dont remember one game on the
gameboy color that actually showed you graphics of your party members in
battle. Why is that? GBC is supposed to be an 8bit processor so I was
thinking why the hell isnt there a game that shows these graphics(NES had
Final Fantasy 1-3 which looked excellent and I doubt it was Squares talent
alone). Now im wondering if the Gameboy Advance could actually play large
capacity games such as deep SNES RPG's. I just have a feeling that there is
a catch down the line such as missing features. My question to you
is........could Gameboy advance really do a high quality RPG because in my
mind GBC has failed at that.

Googleshng:
I gave out such a blood-curdling scream upon seeing this in my mailbox, but since I still haven't gotten
this point across to everyone, let's start picking this apart...

Point #1: The GBA is not a console. A console is a box you hook to your TV, as opposed to a handheld.
32-bit platform, yes, 32-bit system, yes, but 32-bit console, no.

Point #2: The original release of a game is not a port, by definition.

Point #3: Your memory of the graphics from the NES Dragon Warriors is rather off. Simply put, they looked
wretched. Combat consisted of a few small still images representing the monsters always on the single
outdoor background, or a black screen. When someone attacked, they would flash. You characters weren't
shown. The GBC remakes add in backgrounds, and attack animations. Plus they have more complex backgrounds
outside of fights, 4 characters standing in a row won't cause flickering, and they added in big cut-scene
type pictures. Any complaints you have with the graphics (like the white backgrounds) are a question of
taste, not technology... and for the record, the FF games actually ARE known for getting more out of
the NES in terms of graphics than any other RPG.

Point #4: Point 3 is irrelevant. The GBC was created to be a color Game Boy, not a sophisticated new system.
The hardware happens to come out marginally better than the original NES, although the screen is more
square which causes problems for ports. The GBA however WAS created as a sophisticated new system. For
more information, please consultThis Huge Chart I Spent All Day Yesterday
Making. Aside from the SNES having a higher resolution (which honestly doesn't matter much
for porting), the GBA is clearly superior to every system people have been asking about ports from in
all respects. If I have time and can find reliable data I'll add in newer systems tooto show you how
it can handle PSX ports. Anyway, have I explained this well enough yet?

Ahem?!?

Hail, Goog! Wassup?
Couple of quick questions for you, hope you can set me straight:
1. Kingdom Hearts. Am I the only person who's looking forward to this game? I wanna see Cloud go punk vampire, don't you?

Googleshng:
No, you aren't. It does look really... interesting, but you realize of course that being aimed at little
kids, the game itself will suck to high heaven, right?

2. Was I the only one who was saddened to hear of Square's decision? I mean, the Cube is ok and all, but that means that now I have to save up another 300 bucks, and here I was hoping to spend it on games I never caught up on and Pocky... How am I going to convince myself I need a new system when I haven't even beaten FF7??... Anyways, does this mean that there is a chance that the new Chrono title will be ported to the Cube? Please say no.

Googleshng:
Yes. You WERE the only one saddened to hear that. First off, the GameCube costs $200, not $300. Second
off, Square hasn't announced any GC exclusive games, and they might just decide to release every game
they make on both the Cube and the PS2, in which case you'd be in good shape owning either one. Quite
frankly, I don't even see where you're coming from here.

3. What game are you most looking forward to in the upcoming months?

Googleshng:
Honestly? WarCraft 3. My desire to own a game increases steadily from the time I decide I want it to the
day it's released, and WC3's been upcoming a whole lot longer than everything else I'm waiting on.

4. Did I forget to ask you anything else important? I hope not.
Enlighten me, oh high and mighty one!

*SLS*
"I think I know... I don't think I know... I don't think I think I know... I don't think I think!!"
~Ed, Cowboy Bebop

Googleshng:
If everything important could be asked in just 3 questions, I'd have a really boring job.

Simple Question

Hey goog,
I just wanted to ask why do you think that rpg's have hade such an explosion since FF7 came out. Granted FF7 was a great game but many of the games before that one where better IMHO. Also the quote is from FF6 if I remember correctly. You then have to cast a fire spell on the person to unfreeze them.
Noasdi

Googleshng:
Really simple answer here. RPGs started coming out of the woodworks after FF7, because a vast number of
people who normally ignored all RPGs picked it up due to the advertising blitz, thus creating a more
lucrative market. Which of course paved the way for lifeless pieces of junk like Legend of Dragoon to
be whipped up without much thought to make a quick cash. Of course it also made it possible for people
to turn a profit off weird concepts like Koudelka, so it's all good.

2 questions, 2 comments

Dear Googleshng (and various other people, I'm sure)

In response to someone's statement that Auron is trying to atone for
failing his master by wearing his arm in his (cloak?) and carrying a big
jug of sake: Auron was doing that when he was in service of his master.
So, that really doesn't explain why he does it.
Now for questions.

Googleshng:
That topic has already had way too much discussion relative to its importance. Not to mention relative
to any other @#$%ed up character design by Nomura. Looking like a Ronin is nothing compared to Lulu's
belts and hem-line, or why Quistis dresses so trampy for a teacher, or heck, why Squall has 5 belts.
He pretty clearly doesn't consider the logic of any of this stuff... or in Lulu's case, basic physics.
So, MOVING ON...

1. Why do most recent RPGs not have a day/night cycle? The last game I
saw it in was Dragon Warrior 4 for the NES. Does a day/night cycle
create some sort of problem for programmers?

Googleshng:
Uh, most old games don't either. The only games I can think of that do the whole day/night thing are
the BoF games, Diablo 2, and some DW games. Spread out pretty evenly over the years honestly. Anyway,
it isn't a problem at all for programmers, it's just an odd gimmick most people choose not to employ.

2. Is it just me, or is Front Mission 3 really hard once you get about
fifteen hours into the game? Have you played FM3? Do you agree?

3. Preowned games are very cool. (Not really a question, but it's true!)

Later, oh vile slime...thing.

Phoenix

Googleshng:
Not as good as currently owned games though. 8)

There is no spoon.

Heya Google

I thought I'd give ya a few unrelated weird questions, well here goes:
1)What is your favorite weapon ever in any RPG? My personal fav is the spoon, from the SNES FFIV, who coulda though a small blunt eating utensil could cause so much hurt?

Googleshng:
The mop from Chrono Trigger. It's UHF-tastic.

2)Where are all the beards and moustaches? I mean the only character I can think of off the top of my head that had a beard is Cid from FFIV(I bet there are others I just can't think of em).

Googleshng:
There are MANY others. I mean, just on characters from your party in FF4 you missed 2! Tellah and FuSoYa!

3)If you had to be stuck in a room with Cloud or Squall and you had to listen to their personal mental problems, who would you pick?

Well that's all for me, VincentV58

Googleshng:
Squall. He talks less.

Quickies

I had a question I was going to ask, but I forgot what it was.

See, it only has impact the first time.

The only thing I've ever won, for weirdness no less, I'm going to tell all my friends, but if you don't want a question answered, don't ask it.

I post a quicky specifically because it doesn't have a question in it, the person reacts, I post that
too. Wonder how long this'll go on...

Very quick technical question: What video resolution does the PS1 run at?

If I could find it, I'd have thrown PSX in that chart.

Hello.
I am wanting to know if there is going to be an Final Fantasy 9 for PC ?
Thank You,
Ken

No.

The Last Laugh:

Oooooooooooooh! See that new story we just threw up? Phantasy Star series being ported to the GBA! Now
everyone can play the OTHER series everyone is all nostalgic about on a handheld system, and I'm suddenly
a huge fountain of knowledge on something just announced. Woo.

Googleshng "There are Motavians on Motavia and Dezorians on Dezoris." @rpgamer.com
I know that's sort of a given, but for a manticore, that passes as profound wisdom!